Port Meadow Worts And All

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Port Meadow is a spectacular expanse of grassland, situated within Oxford on the Thames floodplain. The 166.7 hectare site is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1085) and evidence from Bronze Age archaeological features suggest it existed well before that. It has been classed as 'common land', meaning that the public has unrestricted access to the site, since Oxford was founded in 885. Throughout this long history, the meadow has been grazed by livestock owned by the Commoners of Wolvercote and the Freemen of Oxford. The word 'port' refers to those who controlled the markets and tariffs at the gates (or 'ports') to the city; this was the meadow belonging to the Port Men. These grazing rights endure to this day, which means that Port Meadow has almost certainly been under the same management regime for over a millennium, allowing it to develop into a specialised habitat which is highly unusual in the UK.

Sunset over Port Meadow (photo from OxOx)

The other main factor affecting the habitats found at Port Meadow besides grazing is flooding. A large proportion of the lower-lying areas of Port Meadow are flooded every winter, and wet weather in recent years has produced summer floods as well. This annual inundation not only provides suitable conditions for the site's unusual plant communities, but also for overwintering and migratory ducks and waders which flock here during the winter months. The site also has features of archaeological significance, with Bronze Age barrows and ditches still visible at the northern end of the common, and a Victorian rubbish tip at the southern end.

Port Meadow is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a European Special Area for Conservation, which gives it legal protection from unlicensed damage or development. This protected status also means that the site managers, Oxford City Council, must ensure that it is appropriately maintained in accordance with advice from Natural England. This is where OCV comes in, helping OCC with the practicalities of site management. One of our commonest tasks at the site is pulling ragwort; although it may be difficult to see the conservation value of this work, it is in fact vital to the upkeep of Port Meadow. This poisonous plant can be fatal to horses and cattle if eaten, and grazing at the site would be very difficult if it were left to grow unchecked. This would mean the end of the Port Meadow tradition of commons grazing as we know it.

Ragwort (photo from Garden Organic)

One reason for Port Meadow's highly protected status is that it was for a long time the only place in the UK where the rare plant creeping marshwort (Apium repens) could be found. This low-growing, white-flowered plant has very specific habitat requirements, and the combination of flooding, and grazing and trampling by livestock which Port Meadow offers are essential to its survival. The plant is protected under the European Union Habitats Directive (1992), and is part of the UK's Biodiversity Action Plan to conserve the diversity of wildlife in the UK. It is classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered in the UK, and under UK law it is illegal to knowingly carry out any actions which damage the plant.

Creeping Marshwort (photo from Natural England)

While OCV contributes to the conservation of this species through practical management of the site, another voluntary group in Oxford plays a different role in the protection of creeping marshwort. The Rare Plants Group is part of the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire which 'works with local and national organisations to prevent extinction of wild plants in Oxfordshire'. The group carries out annual surveys of the creeping marshwort population at Port Meadow, and report its findings to Natural England as an ongoing part of the organisation's Species Recovery Programme. Members of the Rare Plants Group have also been instrumental in projects to reintroduce the species to suitable sites, and the species is now found at three other UK sites, thanks in part to their efforts and advice. At Port Meadow, OCV and the Rare Plants Group are both working in very different ways to ensure the survival of one of our rarest plants.

Miranda Gardner

(with thanks to Alison McDonald and Camilla Lambrick for their expert comments on this article). You can also watch a video of Camilla showing BBC Oxford's Tim Bearder where the creeping marshwort grows and what is being done to preserve it for the future here.

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